Learning by Imitation

Rabbi Daniel Lapin says:

In earlier times parents often depended upon their grown children for their very lives. The unspoken social compact called upon parents to raise their children, while in return, during the parents’ old age, those children would care for them. Back then it was perfectly clear that children were literally their parents’ hands. The adult children did all that those original hands were now too weary to accomplish for themselves. (Buried Treasure, p 59)

Tell a story, or stories, of where you have seen this “social compact” at work ...


We learned that the Hebrew word for a single hand is yad. If we stick a single letter in the middle (remember, we only care about the consonants) we get yeled, a Hebrew word for child. The name for that Hebrew “L” is lamed. Curiously, lamad is a Hebrew verb for teach/learn. Lapin says of children’s imitation of their parents:

While growing children certainly want their parents to recognize them as independent people, they also enjoy being considered as “hands.” Just watch how that little girl dresses herself in imitation of her mother’s sense of fashion. See her beg to be allowed to help bake that cake ... She wants to be linked to her mother ... Dads, if you are handy around the home, try giving your young son his own toolbox. Or better yet, earnestly enlist his assistance on some home maintenance project. Even though his help will undoubtedly complicate what may have been a simple task, invite him to participate with you. Be sure to ask for his help in a way that conveys your genuine need for "another hand.” (Buried Treasure, p 60)

Tell a story, or stories, of where you have been a part of this sort of imitative learning ...

Strangely, as much as the Hebrew scriptures use the words yad, yeled, and lamad, they rarely occur in the same verse! Read God’s judgment of Jerusalem in Isaiah 29:13-21. What examples of “bad learning” do you see in these verses?


Now read Isaiah 29:22-24. What conclusions can you reach about hands, children, and teaching in these verses?


What is the significance of the reference to Abraham in v22?


When / how is discipleship like “imitative learning?”


Closing Thought:  Even though our help will undoubtedly complicate what may have been a simple task for God, he invites us to participate with him. Where has he asked for your help and conveyed his genuine need for "another hand?”